The Adventures of an Intrepid Reporter
by Jade Hunter
Summary: My 100 ficlets and drabbles for the crossovers100 project, starring Smallville's very own Chloe Sullivan.


**Title:** Tension

**Author:** Jade Hunter

**Disclaimer:** None of the characters and properties of _Smallville_ or _Roswell_ belong to me.

**A.N.:** Season 1 for Roswell, post-Crazy, because that was a time when Tess was new but they didn't know who she was. This was spawned off a plot bunny of mine from years ago, an AU crossover where Chloe is the fourth alien, not Tess. Season 2 for Smallville, to fit Chloe's age with the Roswell gang.

**Prompt:** 001 - Beginnings

* * *

"No."

"Tess is already there, paving the way for you. All you have to do is - " He just kept talking as if he hadn't heard her, never faltering, never even glancing at her.

It pissed her off, and she slammed her mug of coffee on the table, ignoring the now lukewarm liquid that splashed over her hand.

"I said, no. I'm _not _going with you."

He glared at her, his eyes colder than anything she'd ever seen, and she wondered how she could have ever felt safe with him. At sixteen, she saw what she had missed at six - here, in front of her, was a killer. The baby face and the lanky build he currently sported made him look harmless, like just another friend from school, but she knew better. She knew he was many times older than he currently looked. She knew that he could shed his current form for another, and another, all to fit with his surroundings. He could look like anyone, and the fact that he had chosen to look like a dork didn't make him any less of a killer inside.

Thus, it came as no surprise that she couldn't hold his gaze for long. Summoning a napkin with her powers, she wiped off the coffee from her hand and the table, using that as an excuse to drop her eyes. It galled her to back down, because Chloe Sullivan did not back down from anyone, but he was different. He was a killer, and just because he had been looking out for her for the past ten years did not mean he wouldn't hurt her if she pushed him too far.

Slowly, methodically, he continued, "As I said, Tess is already - "

"How _is _Tess?" she asked, the cheer in her tone unabashedly false.

Just because she couldn't hold his stupid gaze didn't mean she was giving in. Better to talk about Tess than about whatever he wanted her to leave Smallville for.

His eyes narrowed. "She's doing her part, willingly, like you should be."

Yeah, right.

In the privacy of her mind, Chloe had always felt sorry for Tess. She couldn't imagine being _raised _by him, when even his yearly check ups were leaving her pissed off and rebellious. There was also the part of her that felt a little guilty, for having escaped her fate as his pawn so easily when Tess had not. If not for the fire...

Hmm.

"Dad'll be home soon, you should go," she said suddenly, and it wasn't even a lie.

He sneered. "Calling him 'Dad' still, are we? All he's done is fill your head with human nonsense."

She bristled at the insult and flung one right back without missing a beat, "He raised me better than you ever could have."

"I would have raised you to know your duty," he said coldly. "Your Destiny."

Destiny. She was sick of hearing that word, and she didn't even know what the hell he meant by it. All she knew was that he shoved it in her face every time he tracked her down to check up on her, and the way he said it never failed to put her on edge.

She scoffed, "Whatever."

He bristled as fiercely as if she'd just insulted him, but chose to glare at him with those cold eyes of his instead of saying anything. This time, she chose not to partake in the battle of wills and simply looked at a point slightly above his hair.

"He'll be home soon, you should go," she repeated flatly.

Standing abruptly, the ice in his gaze never melting, the corners of his mouth pulled down and made him look even _more _menacing, if it was possible. "You can't ignore your Destiny forever."

Then he was gone, and Chloe stared at the door he had slammed behind him, wondering if he had meant that as a warning or as a threat.

* * *

FIN.


End file.
